| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, The people of San Antonio lost a dedicated champion |
|
|
of civil rights and an inspiring religious and community leader |
|
|
with the death of the Reverend Claude William Black, Jr., on March |
|
|
13, 2009, at the age of 92; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Born in San Antonio on November 28, 1916, Claude |
|
|
Black, Jr., was the oldest child of Cora and Claude Black, Sr.; he |
|
|
graduated from Morehouse College and subsequently earned a master |
|
|
of divinity degree from Andover Newton Theological School; exposed |
|
|
to political organizing through his father, who served as vice |
|
|
president of the local Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, he |
|
|
became active in the community in the early 1940s; he founded the |
|
|
San Antonio Mother's Service Organization to encourage positive |
|
|
youth development, and it became the first African American group |
|
|
of Christian women to get a state charter for a local club; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Reverend Black continued his activism as the civil |
|
|
rights movement got underway, leading and organizing marches around |
|
|
the state; in March 1960, he urged city officials to integrate local |
|
|
lunch counters, and San Antonio became the first major city in the |
|
|
South to break this barrier without demonstrations; he was an |
|
|
associate of Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, A. Philip |
|
|
Randolph, and Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., and he was invited by |
|
|
President Lyndon B. Johnson to attend the White House Conference on |
|
|
Civil Rights in 1966; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Even as many of the movement's goals were realized, |
|
|
this esteemed Texan remained a vital advocate for San Antonio's |
|
|
African American population; he was elected to the city council in |
|
|
the early 1970s and went on to become the city's first African |
|
|
American mayor pro tem; a decade later, he founded a corporation to |
|
|
help east side residents obtain suitable housing, and in 1995, he |
|
|
was appointed a delegate to the White House Council on Aging by |
|
|
President Bill Clinton; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Reverend Black further distinguished himself as the |
|
|
pastor of San Antonio's historic Mount Zion First Baptist Church |
|
|
and, under his guidance, the church became known for its numerous |
|
|
public outreach efforts; his legacy includes the development of two |
|
|
neighborhood day care centers, an apartment complex for seniors, |
|
|
and the city's only financial institution owned by an African |
|
|
American church; moreover, when the Mount Zion sanctuary was |
|
|
destroyed by arson in 1974, Reverend Black led members through the |
|
|
rebuilding process, and a new sanctuary was completed the next |
|
|
year; by the time of his retirement in 1998, he had served the |
|
|
church for nearly half a century; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, In all of his endeavors, Reverend Black enjoyed the |
|
|
love and support of his beloved wife, ZerNona, with whom he shared |
|
|
59 years before her death in 2005; the couple raised two children, |
|
|
Stewart and Joyce, and welcomed six grandchildren and four |
|
|
great-grandchildren into their family; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Reverend Black was recognized for his commitment to |
|
|
civil rights with the 1991 MLK Distinguished Achievement Award from |
|
|
the City of San Antonio, and the city also named an east side |
|
|
community center in his honor; before his death, he was notified of |
|
|
his selection for the prestigious Testament of Hope Award, given in |
|
|
tribute to an outstanding community leader; his grandson, Taj |
|
|
Matthews, and other family members, accepted the award on his |
|
|
behalf at the second annual Realizing the Dream Award Celebration, |
|
|
hosted by Martin Luther King III; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, With his lifelong devotion to justice and equality, |
|
|
Claude Black made a profound difference in the city of San Antonio |
|
|
and beyond, and he leaves behind a record of achievement that will |
|
|
continue to resonate for many years to come; now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas |
|
|
Legislature hereby honor the memory of the Reverend Claude William |
|
|
Black, Jr., and extend sincere sympathy to his family: to his |
|
|
grandchildren, Taj Matthews, Chantey Matthews, and Claude |
|
|
Williams, and their families; to his sister, Mary Etta Black Deas; |
|
|
and to his many admirers across the Lone Star State; and, be it |
|
|
further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|
|
prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of |
|
|
Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Reverend |
|
|
Black. |